This is a captivating historical fantasy based on the legend of Xishi from ancient China. I love fantasy books with descriptive imagery that make me feel immersed in another world. This is a suspenseful story about a beautiful village girl who goes undercover during a time of war. It is a story of love, betrayal, grief, family, friendship, and sacrifice.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel about duty, sacrifice, and love.

Xishi is a rare beauty. Tucked in a small Yue village, Xishi lives a simple life with her parents , and tries to avoid the Wu who are invading their home. When the Yue King’s minister Fanli arrives and proposes a secret mission that could save Yue, Xishi is hesitant but accepts. She agrees to become a spy in the Wu palace, to seduce the king and learn his secrets. While training the ways of courtly life, Xishi and Fanli grow closer to each other, but doing so could put everything they’ve worked for at risk.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautifully written and emotional tale. I enjoyed reading about Xishi and her courage and growth. She nobly put her duty to her kingdom before herself and before her own happiness. I loved her interactions with Fanli. The court intrigue was also exciting to read, and how Xishi had to carefully balance both worlds. I was a little surprised at the ending, though in hindsight it does make sense for the novel and I probably should have known it would end this way. It is heartbreaking yet beautiful. I felt it was also a pretty short read and easy to fall into.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own..

I initially dove into this book expecting a historical fantasy, but it leaned more into historical fiction with some magical realism. While I read through it in a few days, I found myself not entirely hooked by the story. There was a certain distance I felt from most of the characters, making it difficult to become fully invested in the relationships or to truly feel the emotional punch of the twist at the end.

I believe the story could have benefited from more character development to really draw readers into those connections and intensify the impact of the ending. That said, the writing was beautiful, with some truly memorable lines scattered throughout.

Though this particular book didn’t entirely resonate with me, I’m curious to explore more from this author and see where their other works might lead.

A Song to Drown Rivers sadly didn't work for me. All of the elements were there…a heroine we could root for, a kingdom we wanted to see thrive, a hero we would fall for, political intrigue, and a retelling that will hold us in the palm of its hand. Yet sadly I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters. and that unfortunately plays a huge part of my enjoyment in a book. So many other people absolutely love this book, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you love as much as them!

This is the second book this month that has definitively broken my heart. Like ripped it out of my chest, stomped on it, and then cut it up for good measure. The odd thing - I’m not complaining. lol I’d like to thank the author for shattering my heart by writing such a brutal and emotional read.

I knew nothing about the legend of Xishi before reading this book. The story follows Xishi as she trains and becomes an enemy king’s concubine in order to infiltrate his kingdom, send intel back to her kingdom, and potentially usurp his throne. It's an immersive and suspenseful read that's beautifully written. The author uses tons of beautiful imagery, personification, and pathetic fallacy, and I like how nature often parallels the turmoil happening in the plot or the tumultuous feelings of the main characters.

Xishi is extremely beautiful and often treated differently because of it. But hiding behind that beautiful facade is an intelligent spy who uses her talents to woo the King and fulfill her tasks. What she doesn’t expect is to become so emotionally invested, first in her trainer’s life and then in the King’s. Both men are so much more than Xishi initially realizes, and it causes her to reevaluate all she knows about her kingdom, her enemy, the people who rule, her role in the mission, and the bigger pictures that affect the people in both kingdoms. I found all three characters fascinating and enjoyed how layered and complex they and their relationships were.

There is a bit of a love triangle, which isn’t my favorite trope, but totally makes sense contextually. One thing I really liked about the triangle is how conflicted Xishi is. Though she doesn’t love the King, she sees more than a ruthless killer and unthinking lover. He shows her a more tender and thoughtful side that belies the public persona he embraces. I think there are some thought provoking messages about love, regret, seeing both sides of a terrible story, and sacrifice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so glad I buddy read it with Leslie at Books Are the New Black. We had some great conversations about the characters, plot, writing, and themes. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

This was EXHILARATING. A historical fantasy retelling based on a Chinese Legend, Xishi. We follow her, a young woman who is picked to train and become a spy for her kingdom with the goal of seducing the enemy King. This is peak political intrigue involving multiple kingdoms and a quest for vengeance. Recommend for readers who enjoy historical fiction, legend re-tellings, and slow-burn romance. I’m sure this one is going to pop up for a book of the month selection if it isn’t already.

A historical fantasy that tells the legend of Xishi, a famous beauty of Ancient China, who infiltrates the rivaling Wu kingdom, to spy for her people and save her country. There’s war, there’s deception, there’s love, and there’s even a bit of wit and humor. Overall, a well rounded story that kept my attention throughout.

I was not familiar with the story of Xishi or any of the Four Beauties of Ancient China, so it was fun to learn a bit of mythology from another country. The characters were strong and I appreciated their unique and sometimes complicated personalities. While labeled a historical fantasy, it leaned more towards a historical fiction romance, so if you’re interested in a story with talking dragons that’s dripping in magic, this isn’t it. If you like complex characters, messy love triangles, and unexpected endings, go buy this book now.

A couple critiques, though minor… I might mark this more a YA than Adult novel. It was well written, but sometimes a bit simple and in particular glossed over romance scenes that could have used more - not that the book needed smut, but for context and better understanding of our characters and their relationships. Second, there was a small plot hole I’m still curious about. Did Xishi’s heart magically heal? Was that the fantasy element? What happened there? We never find out.

I’ve seen a few reviews that say the story got a bit slow at times, but I was fortunate to have received an advanced digital and audio copy. Having both mediums might have helped elevate this issue for me, but not once did I feel like stopping from boredom. In fact, it was rewarding to be able to both see and hear certain word and name pronunciations and the narrator was exceptional with their pacing, articulation, and voicing of a wide variety of characters.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced digital copy.

This book was St. George and I was the dragon when it came to reading this. I don’t have the words for how absolutely amazing this book was. Steeped in legend, I found the writing made the story so vivid and engaging. There’s intense longing and I can’t write any more without spoilers.

Although I wish that the characters were more fleshed out, I think this was still one of my favorite reads of the year ❤️

10/1/24 - ***coming back to say that this story has stuck with me


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties in China, this book will charm you and you won't be able to stop reading.

Every time I think about this story, I feel devastated.
I loved every page, every second. I was so invested in the story.

The line between bad and good was so well written. You won't know how you should feel. You'll feel conflicted as much as Xishi.

Xishi needs to use her beauty as a weapon to seduce the King of Wu and save her Kingdom. She trained with Fanli, a military advisor. But their chemistry, their romance is forbidden.

I didn't see the end coming and it still hurts 💔.

But at the end of the day, a book that makes you feel that much in less than 400 pages, is an astonishing story !

If you love :

✨ Forbidden Romance ;
✨ Politics, intrigue ;
✨ Historical fantasy ;
✨ Womanhood ;
✨ Strong and Fierce FMC.

Thank you to St Martin Press

This book is devastating. If I didn’t have so much experience watching c-dramas, I would have crumbled with this book. But, I know how these stories tend to work, and I was preparing myself to be traumatized from the first word

Every scene with Xishi and Fuchai, I was scared and nervous FOR her. But no real consequences really came. Until his last breath, Fuchai really did love Xishi, to the point where he died willingly. Yes, he was supposedly the villain, but he was no worse than Goujian. He was just as cruel and inconsiderate of others’ lives as you’d expect any king to be

Fanli wasn’t the hero/MMC I expected him to be. To both him and Xishi, the attraction and love between them is obvious, yet all he does is push her away until the last second. I wanted to see more romance between Xishi and Fanli. We are mostly just told about how they look at each other, and how Xishi thinks of Fanli, but there’s no concrete moments to push their relationship. They supposedly spent 10 weeks together for her training, yet we barely see anything

I loved the use of Xishi’s younger sister’s death to push her desire for revenge, but later, it felt like Xishi’s motivation changed to being together with Fanli again. I wish there had been more closure for Xishi’s feelings about her sister. Also, I really loved Zhengdan and Luyi!

The emotions of the ending is what completely sold me on this book. First of all, I did not expect that ending. But it made me love the MCs’ relationship. When Fanli told the little boy to tell everyone in Xishi’s village that he and she were living happily 🥹. They both spent the rest of Fanli’s life and more to be together again. They had both put the kingdom ahead of themselves, but they can finally ignore everything else and be together ❤️‍🩹

This wasn’t for me. I feel like the world building wasn’t fleshed out enough, I needed more.

The romance piece also wasn’t developed enough for me. All in all, I needed more from this book.

A Song To Drown Rivers was a beautiful and sorrowful portrayal of grief and the morality of war. The imagery and world were immersive, the storyline compelling, and the characters well-crafted and easy to root for. The themes of unrelenting love, sacrifice, resilience, and empathy really shone through, and Xishi's character encompassed all those feelings. Her and Fanli's everlasting love as the overarching plot made the story shine. An absolutely beautiful and devastating novel.

*I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc! 2.5/5 stars rounded up, overall a decent read but mostly just not living up to a lot of its potential

I definitely am not the first to say (nor will I be the last) that I don't vibe with insta love romance books. like, that's just UST you're talking about dude, not actual romantic love, and I feel like this holds true for xishi and fanli. they're both hotties, we get it - but there's just no conceivable reason shown to us why they even like each other? I mean, we get that whole meeting in the beginning and it felt like it was getting off to a good start but the whole trianing sequence felt more like physical attraction to me than love. top that off with the fact that fanli just disappears for a good chunk of the book - girl, what man is THAT cute that you're pining over him for years? make it make sense. liang's writing saves this a bit - it's beautiful and prose like and descriptive, and it goes a long way towards immersing you into the story and the setting. but while liang's writing was enjoyable, her character work was lacking in a lot of ways. there's a few minor storylines that have potential to add to character development but just end up getting forgotten. most disappointingly, I felt like liang could've done a lot more with developing her characters - xishi felt bland, fanli was just a dude, and fuchai was relegated to drunk clown. we constantly get told about how beautiful xishi is and how she's an amazing spy, but the results don't actually pan out that way and she constantly screws things up and somehow doesn't get discovered. the time skip felt like wasted potentional - court and political intrigue, life and death stakes, the future of her country riding in the balance. there's not enough of any of that for this to feel like a xishi's even a spy. fanli straight disappears for a while - how are we supposed to get any character insight, much less development if he's not even there? fuchai was a major missed opportunity - his character lacked real depth and he's kinda just a caricature of an evil king. overall, I think this book was just a little too ambitious for what we actually got

Review: Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I definitely think it reflects more of a romantasy vibe in that the romance is much more built up and focused on than the actual fantasy aspects of the book. But it kept me interested the entire time. I absolutely loved the writing and the story telling and the interactions between the three main characters. This is an example of a well done romantasy standalone.

Synopsis: Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

I knew I would enjoy this book, but I was not expecting to be completely swept away by it! A Song To Drown Rivers had me hooked from page one and kept me hooked all the way through. Xishi was such a beautiful character and I loved her so much. Her kindness, loyalty and bravery shine through and I loved every minute of her story. I knew nothing about this mythology going in, but found myself wanting to research as I was reading. I really enjoyed seeing her develop a sense of cunning as she dealt with being behind enemy lines, especially with Fuchai. The ending definitely made me tear up, both sad and happy tears. I highly recommend this one to fans of mythology, beautifully immersive writing and strong characters.
CW: death, violence, suicide, war


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

4-4.5 stars. This is beautifully-written historical fantasy based on the Xishi, one of the legendary Four Beauties of Ancient China. She is enlisted to be trained as a courtesan and a spy in the enemy king's court but falls in love with her trainer. Much of the story is about a woman's lot in life: "The men will fight for their thrones and their power and their legacies, but to them we are nothing more than crickets and ants, insignificant, expendable." But the author also touches on the paradoxes of war and how the common people on either side are the ones who pay the price.

Many thanks to the author and publisher of providing me with an arc of this new novel. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

This is a beautifully heartbreaking book that I won't soon forget. From the vivid descriptions to the lyrical narrative, each page is literally a masterpiece of depth and emotion. The story is at once an age-old saga of kingdoms, wars and betrayals, and yet it's unique in its many labyrinthine twists, turns and surprises. I had to hold my breath as I quickly flew through the pages, knowing with a sense of dread what was coming, yet unable to stop the inevitable. But even when you think you know where this book is going, you'll come to find out, you don't know anything at all. Written so vibrantly, you almost experience this story like a painting, each scene unfolding in your mind like a brilliant splash of color. Mesmerizing in its intensity and haunting in its memory, it's one story you won't want to miss.

I feel a lot of fantasy stories fall into the trap of trying to do so much which ultimately has them not doing enough in certain aspects. World building, character development, and the romance could have been more developed, but for what we got was pretty okay. I’m more in love with the foundation and intention this story was made for as opposed to the final execution. I adore the writing itself, it was the structure and sometimes the pacing that set me back. I have to admit that this story did have me tearing up a bit, in a good way. This was not a perfect 5 but I look forward to reading more from this author.

A beautifully woven story inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China.

Xishi, hand selected from her small village for her unparalleled beauty and bravery, is trained to become the perfect weapon. A weapon to crumble the enemy kingdom from within. A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds.

This was my first Ann Liang book and I've already added all her blacklists to my tbr. Her writing was so vivid and beautiful I felt like I was immersed in the story and truly didn't want to leave.

Xishi's experience throughout her journey broke my heart over and over again.
The yearning was devastating and so well written. Her ambivalence made her so much more human and relatable to me. Her experience of recognizing the world isn't so absolute and making some devastating choices resonated. The yearning was unmatched. It had a solid depictons of heartbreak, and the brutality of war while finding the humanity in both sides.

Potential spoiler* I will warn you this book broke my heart and didn't put it back together, so consider yourself warned ...

I definitely recommend for lovers of Historical Fiction/Fantasy.

Unfortunately, "A Song to Drown Rivers" was a huge letdown. It didn't sit well with me.

The story started strong, then slowed down considerably for much of the rest of the story. I was kind of over it by the 80% mark but skim-read what was left. In hindsight, I wish I had DNF-ed long before then.

I have mixed feelings about Xishi (MC). There were inconsistencies about her capabilities to complete the mission. Sometimes she seemed skilled and callous. At other times, like fumbling incompetence. Her unique beauty (a paramount factor to the success of his mission) and mystery illness (which was never really explained, unless I missed that) quickly became irrelevant.

I do believe she genuinely thought what she was doing was for the greater good, to save her people. But I liked her less and less as time went on and her stubborn refusal to see the bigger picture until it was too late. By the end, I felt frustrated by her and furious for her.

Disappointing and underwhelming, this kind of story didn't work for me.

Thanks again St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!